“From the writer of 2004’s “Dawn of the Dead” comes the deliciously demented story of an unnamed evil wreaking havoc on a small town. Intent on devouring all life on Earth, this dark force is infecting anyone in its path. Now, it’s up to the local sheriff, Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion, “Serenity”), and his team to stop the spread of rampant devastation – and shocking mutilation – before it’s too late.”

“Slither” is rated R for strong horror violence and gore, and language.

The Movie:
A strange meteor lands outside of the quiet, rural town of Wheely and something alien crawls out – first taking over the body of the wealthy-but-unfortunately-named Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) and from there very quickly the rest of the town. Soon only the town sheriff (Nathan Fillion) and Grant’s wife (Elizabeth Banks) are left to stop the parasite from spreading to the rest of the world, if they survive the night.

Done with a knowing wink and a nod, “Slither” doesn’t offer much in the way of scares, but makes up for it in laughs and decent banter and a number of well executed gross out moments.

It’s an incredibly tricky balance of tone to maintain – one that sends many lesser films plummeting into unintentional self-mockery – but first-time director James Gunn (“Dawn of the Dead”) manages it with aplomb. He also manages the even more difficult task of adding a bathetic element to the monster that actually gives the film some heart.

Most of the laughs, not surprisingly, are courtesy of Fillion whose irony-filled taciturn charm is on full display here. He’s ably assisted by Gregg Henry as the very earthy mayor and a number of well chosen and well executed sight gags that always manage to be funny without ever going over-the-top into straight out ludicrousness. Not everyone’s so lucky; plucky Tania Saulnier, despite an excellent introduction as she escapes from slugs invading her bathtub, ends up spending most of the film as an exposition device.

The monster effects aren’t the best either. The main creature design doesn’t seem to have a well thought-out concept behind it and the digital work on the slugs is uneven. It’s hard to make a slug, even a fast moving slug, creepy but Gunn does get a few good moments out of them.

If you’re looking for real horror look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for an entertaining film, “Slither” fits the bill.

The Extras:
Despite the fact that the DVD cover only lists a portion of the bonus features, there’s a lot more on here than you might expect. You have your standard offerings like a commentary, a gag reel, and making of featurettes. They include features on the visual effects, monster effects, casting, and other such stuff. There are also extended scenes and deleted scenes. Most notable among them is a scene where Pardy and his deputies are called on to remove a deer from inside a house. (The deer is later zombified in the movie and attacks Pardy.)

Among the non-standard features is a set tour conducted by Nathan Fillion with a video camera. The footage he filmed is quite funny and it looks like everyone had a lot of fun on the set. There’s also a short “Bill Pardy” featurette where they describe an in-joke from the set where Fillion would frequently repeat, “I’m Bill Pardy.”

Overall, there’s a lot here in the bonus features to make DVD fans happy. Whether you’re interested in the effects, make-up, or just general behind-the-scenes footage, you’ll find what youre looking for.

The Bottom Line:
Part monster B-Movie, part zombie flick, “Slither” is sure to please horror fans and comedy fans alike.